At the end of your first week, you're certain of two things. First, that Majima is incredibly strict, and second, everyone seems to be obsessed with him.

You really don't get it.

Sure, he's easy on the eyes, but you find his personality a total turn-off.

It's a Saturday night and you're exhausted from the long week. The obnoxious lights of the disco ball in the otherwise dark room are giving you a migraine and the bad music playing in the background is definitely not helping.

Needless to say, you're not in the best mood.

No one has requested you, which is bittersweet. On one hand, it means that you're free to simply sit back and watch the hustle and bustle of the other staff members from afar. On the other... Majima isn't going to keep around a hostess he has no use for.

You zone out, giving in to your bitter mood as you absently survey the floor.

Despite yourself, you can't help but notice the figure of your boss moving from table to table wherever he's needed.

You'd never really given it much thought before, but he seems to be pretty hard working.

Maybe you're a little wrong about him.

You still can't quite grasp what everyone else sees in him, but maybe he's not as bad as you'd made him out to be.

Sour mood forgotten, you fix your gaze on him. He's helping out Ai with a customer that's gotten a little too rowdy after knocking back a couple of drinks.

You feel an odd pang watching the two of them. Obviously you're not envious of the situation, customers are a handful at the best of times, let alone drunk ones... And of course you're not jealous of how much time Ai has to spend with Majima. Or are you?

You banish the thought immediately, feeling a little disturbed. What a weird idea.

You've been staring so long that he's into you. Your boss catches your gaze from across the room. Feeling embarrassed, you immediately drop your eyes to the floor.

When you dare peek back in his general direction, you can see in your periphery that he's gone back to tending the floor. Things are definitely odd today. Maybe you've caught some rare disease or something. You don't feel quite yourself. Perhaps it's something they put in the water here. Everyone except you and Yuki seems totally enamored with him. Even Youda, the floor manager, has a deep admiration for Majima. In fact, you and Yuki have become fast friends, both considering each other the only other sane staff member. As the other girls whisper and giggle in the dressing rooms, you're the only two who remain silent.

You decide that you're definitely under the weather and that you should take tomorrow to recoup. It'll be a good opportunity to call your parents and assure them that you're doing fine. Tomorrow, you'll wake up and these weird thoughts will have long since disappeared.

At least, you sincerely hope so.

As the staff members are closing up, Majima approaches you.

This is it, you think. He's decided you're a useless hostess and he's firing you.

You swallow as he stops a few steps in front of you, bracing yourself for the worst.

"Hey, ya got a minute? I wanted to do some more hostess training with you."

Wait, what?

You follow him to one of the booths, incredibly confused. Still, you diligently take a seat next to him.

"Actually since you're still pretty new to this, I wanted to know how you're doing. You know, how you're settling in."

This isn't what you'd expected. You're not sure how to answer.

"Well?" He gently prompts again.

You decide to just be honest, "I feel a little out of my depth. I know I haven't really gotten any requests because I'm so new to this, I'm not really sure what I'm doing."

He nods. "Hey, we all gotta start somewhere. But the girls and I are here to help you. We gotta support each other. Yuki was terrible when she started-"

"Hey!" She bites back.

"-But now she's a pretty essential part of this place," he continues, unperturbed. "You got a certain charm to you. If I didn't think you could cut it here, I wouldn't have hired you. If you just apply yourself a little, you might even end up a platinum hostess one day. And don't be afraid to ask for help. "

He sounds so genuine.

You just sit there stupidly for a few seconds, not sure how to respond.

"Hey, is it that surprising to get some praise? I know I'm a bit tough but come on," he says.

Finally, you speak up," no... I appreciate it. Really, Majima. Thank you."

"I mean it. Anyways, I'll see you on Monday. I think you could use a day to recharge."

He smiles at you and you manage to return it.

That evening, you walk back home with a weird mix of emotions.

Maybe your boss isn't so bad after all.